You've Got Nothin', and Nothin's Got You
by Neo-Dracula
Summary: Finn grew up under his abusive father, Martin, with his older brother Penn and half-sister Shoko... until Martin kicked them all out onto the streets. Years later, those times are nothing but bad dreams. He's now an independent young man with a steady job and crappy apartment. But, one faithful night, he meets a mysterious girl and old man, and they'll change his life forever...
1. Chapter 1

A young blond boy sat across from a dark haired Japanese girl. They were acting as five year olds typically act, playing with toys.

"Quit 'yer whining and get me another beer, ya little shit..." rang out a slurred, rumbling voice. It came from the man that was causing them to sit out in the middle of the dilapidated hallway instead of the family room, where they belonged, in the first place.

"Y-Yes sir..." mumbled a small voice in submission.

The blond child looked over to his playmate, "Pa sounds angry again, Shoko..."

"I know..." mumbled the small girl, hugging a white, stuffed tiger toy to her chest, "-I hope he doesn't hit Penn again..."

At that moment, an older boy, probably around five years older than them, but looked almost exactly like the younger boy, walked through the decrepit hallway. The two children looked up at him with eyes full of concern and shining with tears.

Penn placed his hands on each of their tiny heads, rustling their hair, "Shh, shh, c'mon, guys... don't cry. You know he doesn't like that..."

Finn softly grabbed the older boy's wrist, "P-Penn... why- why does Papa hit you sometimes...?"

Penn looked forward solemnly, "I dunno, little brother. I mean... look, nows not really the time, Finn..."

An empty bottle whizzed past Penn's head, smashing into a nearby wall, where it exploded upon impact and sent shards of glass raining nearby the children. Finn and Shoko covered their heads and squealed in fear.

"I SAID GIVE ME A FUCKIN' BEER, YOU WORTHLESS BASTARD, NOT SHOOT THE BREEZE WITH YOUR LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER!"

"Sorry, sorry! I'm getting it!" assured Penn worriedly, quickly hustling into the kitchen and grabbing another beer for the already drunken man.

Finn and Shoko watched as their brother walked past them, shooting a, 'stay down' glance at them.

In the next room, the exchange between Penn and his father went something like this-

"When I tell you to do something, you do it right away, you little shit..." mumbled the father, capitalizing his rage by popping the cap on his beverage.

"Yessir. It won't happen again." assured Penn, and a creaking of boards signaled his attempt to try and walk away.

"Whoa, holdup. The freakin' hell do you think you're going?"

"Err... back to my room, sir..."

"I don't think so. I don't think you learned your lesson, yet. Get over here, I need to pound it into your thick skull, apparently."

"Please... I didn't mean to..."

WHAP!

Shoko tucked her head into her knees, sobbing into her stuffed tiger. Finn clenched his eyes shut, furious at the unfairness of it all.

"But... I didn't..."

"Huh? Ya talkin' back now, huh? Well, I was just about to let you off the hook, but it looks like you need a little more DISCIPLINE!"

WHAP!

Finn peered around the corner, seeing his father, Martin, toss Penn onto his back. Penn's nose was busted, and he had a nasty shiner.

Martin noticed Finn out of the corner of his eye. He spat on the cluttered ground and pointed a chubby finger at the two kids, "FINN, SHOKO! GET YOUR LITTLE ASSES OUT HERE, THIS INSTANT."

Finn and Shoko slunk into the room, their knees buckling in fear.

Martin stroked his brown, unkempt beard, before wiping his grubby hands on his dirty wife beater and running the opposite hand over his bald head. His face was twisted into a grimace, and he stared down at the two in hate, "I BUST MY ASS FOR YOU LITTLE SHITS. EVEN AFTER YOUR MOM DIED..."

He pointed at Finn and Penn accusingly, as if their mother's cancer was their fault. He then turned to Shoko, "-I KEPT SUPPORTING YOU. BUT, APPARENTLY, THAT NOT A FUCKING 'NUFF, BECAUSE I JUST HAD TO GO FUCK SOME ASIAN SLUT AND GET STUCK WITH DAUGHTER I NEVER WANTED!"

To the shock of her siblings, Shoko was then slapped across the face, sending her falling to the floor. Penn and Finn's mouths had fallen in shock.

"ENOUGHS ENOUGH! IF YOU CAN'T EVEN GET ME A DAMN BEER WITHOUT DICKING AROUND LIKE A BUNCH OF FUCKING CHIMPS, YOU CAN GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

* * *

Finn's eyes burst open, and he shot up, sweat dripping from his body.

The now teen scrutinized his surroundings. Same shitty apartment, same messy floor, same crappy, torn up couch, same yellow bulldog napping on it. He wasn't still a child living with Martin, he was a young man, out on his own.

"Just another nightmare..." thought the teen out loud, standing up from his bed. He walked over to his fridge, taking out a carton of milk. Milk always helped calm him down.

He took a chug, but spit it out as soon as he tasted the foul liquid. Wiping the white from his lips, he checked the carton... to find it' contents were a month expired.

"That's real nice..." muttered Finn, tossing it into a nearby garbage can.

After haphazardly tossing a stray towel over the stain, Finn looked down at Jake, who stared up at him in curiosity. Finn chuckled, "Nothing's wrong, boy... we're just outta milk..."

Jake whined a bit, curling up at his master's feet. Finn knew what that meant... his pooch was hungry. Finn kept Jake around because he usually both fed himself and kept the rats away... both by the same method- eating them. But he couldn't live off of rodents and his master's scraps, so Finn had to fed him occasionally.

"Let's see what we got in the ye old fridge, bro..." Finn said comfortingly to his pooch, before turning back to the fridge. He cracked it open, and was met with nothing but a rush of cold air and a slice of moldy pizza.

"Yeesh... I guess we're really outta food."

Finn looked over to his digital clock... it read "2 o'clock".

"I can't usually sleep after a nightmare, and even if I could, you'd be bugging me for a nibble all night... just wait here, buddy. I'll go pick up some dog food, milk, and ramen."

Finn quickly slipped on his jeans, black sneakers, and his favorite blue hoodie, which had a white hood. He grabbed his wallet off the table and looked into his cabinet-

His two weapons, a bronze (almost gold looking) beat up 9mm handgun he had bought from a pawn shop, and a red switchblade, 'a gift from a friend' he had been told in the note he had found when he saw it at his doorstep. He was suspicious at first, but it was a tough city, and he could use all the arms he could get his hands on. However, although he lived in a crappy apartment complex, the area he lived in over all wasn't that bad... however, it wasn't above a frequent mugging when you travel alone.

Finn grabbed his blade, tucking it away and leaving his apartment, locking the door behind himself. He turned to leave, when he ran into a familiar face... literally.

"Oh my God, Finn, like, watch where you're like, going!"

The young man sighed, "'Sup, LSP?"

Lindsay Selena Parker, or LSP, as her friends call her. She and Finn were quite good friends, albeit her constant attempts to get into his pants (some of which may or may not have succeeded, depending on who you ask).

Finn had to admit, she had a great bod. Tan, puffy hair, and curves for miles... it was just that... voice.

She, had no doubt, had just gotten back from a wild night of clubbing. Finn helped her up, as she dusted off her shiny, purple dress. Finn smiled at her, "So, what are you doing out?"

"Ya, know, I WAS JUST GOIN' OUT TO GET CRUNK. But, like, those total lameo's down at 'The Inferno' totally kicked me out. Can you like, believe that?"

"Can't imagine why..." joked Finn, tucking his hands into his pockets, "-any who, I couldn't sleep, so I'm just going out for a walk, and pick some food, ya know?"

"I can dig. Well, laters, cutie..." she said, giving his butt a slap before strutting down the hall.

Finn sighed and left the building.

* * *

"Perfect. He's alone, and there's going to be no witnesses..." remarked a male to a female, carefully watching a young man leave his apartment complex, while they themselves hid in a slick, black car.

"This is the opportunity we've been waiting for..." added the female, narrowing her glowing red eyes on her prey...


	2. Chapter 2

Finn slapped the 10 dollar bill on the counter, as the grocer placed the last of his items in the brown paper bag.

"Thank you for shopping with us, sir. Come again."

"Yeah, you're welcome." replied Finn as he pocketed his change and scooped the bag under one arm.

As the young man walked out of the convince store with a ring from the door, he found himself standing underneath a street lamp, staring out at the icy blackness of the night city, a few bright lights scattered about in the isolated darkness. There were barley any signs of human life anywhere outside, only a drunk sitting in an alleyway, curled up in his worn coat.

As the young man decided it was time to go home, he turned and began walking down the sidewalk, wondering what his loyal pooch was doing.

"Yo, loser. Stay still for a sec."

Finn craned his head to the side, to find a fat man wearing a ridiculously tight pair of jeans and filthy black t-shirt walking towards him. The fat man had a green Mohawk, and dull blue eyes. He was chomping on a burrito, which he finished in a few bites and proceeded to toss the wrapper at Finn's feet.

Finn began reaching for his pocket, where his switchblade was stored, "Can I help you...?"

The man lifted his chunky hand, "Don't try and squirm away. I swear, if you just sit back and be a good boy, I won't hurt ya..."

Finn pulled out his switchblade, flipping the business end out with a flick of his thumb. The portly punk smirked cockily, "Wrong move, loser..."

"Great, just as we have this kid, Donny shows up!"

Out of his peripheral vision, Finn saw two figures approach from the side. One was a feminine figure in all black, with her hood pulled up. She had a guitar case strapped around her back. The other was a slightly taller man wearing a navy-blue Nehru jacket over a black turtle neck, with Kahki pants. He also had a pointed nose, round sunglasses, and a well-kept snow white beard and ear-length hair of the same color. Not the paragon of muggers, exactly.

Finn began backing away from both parties, "I don't know whats going on here..."

The old man reached out towards Finn, "Look, Finn! We don't wanna hurt you!"

The fat man, apparently named Donny, reached out towards Finn, "I don't either! Really!"

The old man kicked Donny in the gut, causing him to stumble back. Just as Finn was about to turn tail and run, the girl grabbed him by the shoulders. She had something that freaked Finn out... red eyes, and sharp fangs. "Look, Finn! Just stay and listen to us! We're friends!"

Finn broke away from her. He didn't know what was going on, but he was absolutely sure that he didn't want any part of it, "No! Just leave me alone!"

He turned tail and fled back to his home, tucking his groceries close to his chest.

In a flash of black, the girl appeared in front of him, her arms spread forward, "No way, ya big weenie! We don't want to hurt you; and we've been looking for you for years, and we've waited for a week for the perfect opportunity to talk to you! Please, just listen to what we have to say!"

Finn grunted, "I said leave me alone!"

The girl's face twisted into a stern grimace, "No. You're coming with us, whether you like it or not."

"HEY! ARE YA FORGETIN ABOUT ME!?"

Finn gasped as the fat man tossed his hand towards him, and, like magic, the chubby fingers stretched out, twisted into green tendrils, and rapidly snaked through the air towards him.

Finn cried out in shock as they wrapped around his torso, lifting him into the air. He dropped his groceries in shock.

"What the hell?!" cried the boy, seeing the fat punk below him, laughing. He grabbed hold of the green tendril, noticing their strange texture... and the occasional leaf, '_Are these... vines...?'_

Then, out of nowhere, a bolt of frigid white came from the side, freezing the punk's side. Ice began to crawl up the tendrils, and were soon shatered by a kick from the strange girl.

Finn fell back to the earth, but was caught by the mystery woman before he went splat.

Finn looked back at Donny, who was rubbing his missing hand... but there was no blood. Only a green stump, with a slight amount of clear liquid dribbling out.

"He. Did ya really think that could stop me, bitch?"

With a grunt of exertion, Donny had caused a new hand to pop out.

"That's it. I'm fucking done!" said Finn to the girl, trying with all his might to squirm out of her grasp.

"No, you're not." she said firmly, keeping her grip on Finn with inhuman strength. She didn't seem affected at his attempts to escape in the slightest.

Suddenly, the sound of police siren filled the air, and flashes of red and blue could be seen from behind a building. Donny, the old man, and young woman all hissed and cursed at once, "Damn, the cops!"

Donny shot a disgusting leer at the two, "We'll finish this later, pipsqueaks."

With that, he ran in the opposite direction, with speed much greater than a man of size should have possessed.

The old man grabbed onto the young woman's shoulders, pressing his back against her guitar case, "C'mon, Marceline, we need to go!"

"Right. Hold tight, Simon!"

Finn narrowed his eyes, "I don't know who- or what- you people are, but I'm pretty sure I want nothing to do with you-UUUUU!"

Without warning, the girl with the guitar-case had taken off into the sky, flying back towards Finn's apartment complex.

Finn was basically to stunned to say anything. From the girl's arms, he stared blankly down at the city, wondering just what in hell was going on. All he wanted to do was go get some snacks... a few cans of dog food... milk... but now, he was soaring through the sky with an old man and red-eyed, fanged girl.

She touched down in an alleyway right next to Finn's apartment complex. The young man was clearly quite frazzled. His hair was sticking up in all directions and he was breathing in and out like he had just finished a mile-long swim.

Finn slung out his switchblade once again, backing up against the alleyway's wall, "Please... just leave me alone..."

The old man sighed, "Finn... we don't want to hurt you. We're friends. After all, I gave you that switchblade."

Finn looked down at it in curiosity. His breathing hiked up, "I don't... why? What's going on?"

The white-beared old man gave a warm smile, "My name is Simon Petrikov. This is my friend, partner, and adoptive daughter, Marceline Abadeer."

"'Sup?" she asked, smiling and flashing a rocker-sign.

Finn's breathing seemed to decrease in intensity a bit, "Ok... ok... I know who you are... but WHAT are you... humans can't do all the things you and that Donny guy can do... and what do you want from me?"

Simon sighed, "As for what we are... that's a complected story. For now, just know that I have ice-powers and Marceline here is a demon, Vampire hybrid. That guy, Donny? Hes a plant demon we've been tracking down for about a week now."

Finn chuckled a bit, "Great, now I'm friends with Jack Frost and the lovechild of Dracula and Satan. What, did you want me to go square dancing with Bigfoot...?" he laughed fearfully, and slid back onto his butt, sitting with his legs crossed.

Simon coughed a bit, "I know you find that hard to believe, but it's the truth. You see, we both work for a paranormal activity agency."

Finn looked down at his palms, "You're still not explaining why you want me..."

Simon squatted down next to him, placing his hand on Finn's shoulder, "We want to recruit you, Finn... you might be the key to saving this world."

Finn got up, hands raised defensively, "Sorry, sir, I'm no legendary hero. Please, I just wanted to get some milk and dogfood 'cause I couldn't sleep. No, if you'd just let me squeeze by..."

Marceline sighed, "See, I told you it was a good idea to wait for him to be alone at night to ask him. I just knew he wasn't going to believe us."

Finn tried to burst away, but before he could, he felt a cold hand chopping his head, and as he fell down, all he could see were stars.


End file.
